Development of hydrogen production technology from various raw materials
Research on e-Fuel manufacturing and utilization through DME

▲Wonjun Cho, CEO of Biofriend Inc.

Wonjun Cho, CEO of Biofriends Inc., who received the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Award on the 2nd Hydrogen Day on the 2nd, contributed to the revitalization of the hydrogen economy through the development of hydrogen production technology from various raw materials and the development of e-Fuel manufacturing and utilization methods for a carbon-neutral society. was recognized.

Biofriends CEO Wonjun Cho joined KOGAS in 1992 and worked as a technology research center director in DME research and development PM for 23 years, developing technology to produce bulk hydrogen from natural gas, and developing technology to directly produce DME through this technology. I have taken the lead.

In addition, the world's first technology to manufacture hydrogen using DME was developed, and it aims to mass-produce it to domestic rural areas, local cities, and houses. In recognition of these research activities and development achievements, he has served as an international ISO member (DME, LPG bunkering) of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's Technology Standards Institute, a member of the Alternative Fuel Technology Research Institute, the chairman of the Korea DME Association, and the vice president of the Korea Hydrogen and New Energy Industry and Public Relations.

CEO Cho established BioFriends Inc. in 2016 for the purpose of producing hydrogen using DME and DME, a clean fuel. The main business of BioFriends Inc. is DME production, hydrogen extraction device, hydrogen charging, and carbon capture utilization (CCU). Since its establishment, it has signed MOUs with various countries such as China, Indonesia, Mongolia, Malaysia, and the United States, completed a 5,000-ton DME plant in 2020 and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2023. Various projects are being carried out to produce clean hydrogen using environmental pollutants that are socially controversial, the final goal of BioFriends Inc.

First, the Canaan Agricultural County School, located in Wonju, Gangwon-do, is conducting research and demonstration projects to install fuel cell systems for greenhouses and apply them to actual farms. Hydrogen produced using clean fuel DME produced by BioFriends Inc. is supplied as fuel for hydrogen fuel cells, and the generated heat energy is used as a heating facility in winter, and in summer, heat pumps are used to operate greenhouses such as electricity/cooling and heating.

In addition, it is intended to contribute to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by introducing a "triple fission system" that collects carbon dioxide generated during the power generation process and uses it for carbon dioxide cultivation in facility horticulture. It is expected that the project will serve as a stepping stone for the process of accelerating the speed of low-carbon fuel conversion centered on domestic farming and fishing villages and preparing for the future green hydrogen era.

The second business is to pyrolyze waste plastics to produce hydrogen. The use of plastic is increasing due to non-face-to-face culture as it suffers from COVID-19, and the treatment and recycling of such waste plastic is urgently needed. Currently, it is expected to reduce waste reduction and carbon emissions by switching from a central treatment method for landfilling and incineration of waste plastic to a pyrolysis method. BioFranz Co., Ltd. is researching and developing a technology to produce high-purity hydrogen by modifying refined lead oil into raw materials among by-products produced by oxygen-free pyrolysis of waste plastic.

In addition, carbon dioxide additionally generated during the hydrogen production process will be collected and recycled in smart farms. These research projects are expected to open the possibility of converting the current fossil fuel-oriented industrial structure to a decarbonized industrial structure by converting waste plastic into clean energy.

Third, it is a project to produce hydrogen and carbon black (carbon black) through plasma pyrolysis using natural gas and biogas as raw materials. Lab-scale equipment is being manufactured and experimentally produced using Prime Plasma's technology that can convert all aliphatic hydrocarbons such as biogas, renewable natural gas (RNG), methane, and ethane into pure hydrogen and conductive carbon black. Hydrocarbon (CnHm) plasma pyrolysis produces cyanide and carbon black without emitting carbon dioxide, which has the advantage of consuming 25% less power than water electrolysis green hydrogen.

Fourth, using natural gas, hydrogen production facilities can be built using SMR (steam reforming reaction), SCR (steam-CO ₂ reforming reaction), TR (triple reforming reaction), and CO ₂-free plasma pyrolysis. Through this, it won an order for a base-type hydrogen production base service ordered by the Korea Gas Corporation.

In addition, technology development and plant-scale demonstration projects are underway to synthesize methanol, an eco-friendly alternative fuel, by collecting carbon dioxide from cement exhaust gas. By collecting carbon dioxide and fine dust generated in the cement process to produce synthetic gas, synthesize methanol to produce clean hydrogen using rDME and manufactured rDME, the project is carried out as a competent agency. Accordingly, it is expected to be closer to the effect of reducing greenhouse gases and a carbon-neutral society.

CEO Cho of BioFriends is still exploring ways to produce clean hydrogen from various raw materials and various ways to produce E-FUEL by linking the produced hydrogen to CCU. Furthermore, it plans to lay the groundwork for revitalizing the hydrogen economy and leading the clean energy industry based on experience through step-by-step technology development and demonstration aimed at 2050 carbon neutrality (NET-ZERO) without rushing for hydrogen companies.



Source: Gas News http://www.gasnews.com